How can a food ordering app help you to hop on board the heat at home trend?

The heat at home trend is becoming very popular as COVID-19 rears its ugly head again. With parts of the UK back in lockdown, we’re all looking for new ways to get around the dreaded restrictions on eating out and heating at home is a great solution.

As a brand, you’re probably looking for ways to capitalise on this new trend and ensure that you can keep business going despite the lockdown measures disrupting business. Here’s a roundup of our top tips on hopping on board the heat at home trend.

What Is Heat At Home?

‍

If you’ve not heard of the heat at home trend yet, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Instead of buying food that is cooked in a restaurant and delivered to you, people are now opting to get meals sent to them that can be heated at home.

For consumers, these fancy ready meals are ideal for those who want a flexible food option that can be conveniently reheated at any time. Meanwhile, for brands it means that they are able to use up the fresh produce that they have, offer a new kind of product and stay in business during the lockdown period.

Many restaurants have had to pivot to takeaway only as a result of the lockdown measures, and the heat at home trend offers businesses another way to make money. With dishes that are premade, consumers simply add their finishing touches to their delicious meal and can enjoy the restaurant experience at home.

Why Is Heat At Home Such A Hit?

Here’s the top reasons that consumers and businesses alike are loving the heat at home trend:

• The part-cook aspect

People seem to be enjoying the fact that they can ‘cook’ an amazing dinner at home, without having to do all that much. As the middle ground between cooking your own meal and eating out, heat at home offers a new twist on at home dining.

• Meals can be adapted

With heat at home meals, the finishing touches can be applied by the cook. Some heat at home meals will offer the basics (eg pasta sauce, fresh pasta and some bread) and you can add whatever you wish (eg - chicken, parmesan, garlic and olive oil). This means that meals can be adapted to suit the customer.

• Restaurants are able to use up their fresh produce

Restaurants are loving the fact that they can use up the fresh produce that they ordered pre-COVID, despite not being able to serve people in their restaurants. By creating heat at home dishes and signature ingredients they are able to make use of the produce that has been delivered and may otherwise go to waste.

• It helps restaurants stay in business

The main reason that the heat at home trend has been so favoured is that restaurants need to continue doing business in order to stay alive. For them, heat at home is a lifeline and a way to secure cashflow during this uncertain time. Consumers want to support their favourite local businesses and are getting behind the heat at home trend as a way to show their support (and enjoy a delicious meal at home!).

How Can Businesses Do Heat At Home?

Heat at home dishes are flexible and easy to get involved with, so if you’re a food business it’s definitely something to consider. If you’ve been offering takeout, there’s no need to stop doing that. However, adding heat at home dishes alongside your normal offering could be a great option to boost revenue and encourage more customers.

Here’s some things you could consider doing as part of a heat at home option: 

• Offer your signature dishes as heat at home options
• Offer frozen options for your customers to heat later
• Package up ingredients separately for customers to cook at home
• Partner with a mobile ordering solution to help you complete heat at home orders

Yoello and heat at home

With a mobile ordering platform like Yoello, you’ll be able to get more orders through to your restaurants. Yoello’s customisable menu options allow you to create a custom digital menu with ease which can include heat at home options.

For more information on how to build a COVID strategy, and use mobile ordering to your benefit get in touch.

‍

‍

Richard Billingsley